Listless
by Chairman-Meowith
Summary: Tris uses all her magic and becomes ill. It falls to Niko to take care of her. Possible small spoilers for Tris' book. Set after Briar's book sometime just because it mentions a pox. A bit of Tris whump, some Niko/Tris fluff. Oneshot


**AN: I don't own Circle of Magic and I probably never will. Anyway this is my first circle of magic fic. Reviews are _always_ welcome. Also I suppose this has to be set sometime after Briar's book because it mentions a pox epidemic and in Briar's book they said there hadn't been one for three years... Although there aren't really any spoilers other than maybe a small thing for Tris' book. **

Tris looked unsteadily at her companion

"Niko?" she almost whispered. He turned toward her in the space of a second.

"Tris?" He demanded "Tris, what did you do?" She smiled at him, he was angry. He looked even more annoyed when she grinned foolishly at him.

"I... I think I used too much magic..." His thick black brows snapped together.

"Trisana you were to tell me the minute you felt tired." _Ooh _thought Tris _he isn't just angry he is furious_. She stumbled towards him. He put a boney hand on her shoulder and she was steady for a moment. Then without further warning she pitched into the welcome darkness. She was unconscious when Niko caught her.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo OoOoOoOoOoO

When Tris next opened her eyes she was in a bed, in a room that was not her own. The room was large, made of cold gray stone. It was extravagantly furnished with rich tapestries hanging on the walls and colourful rugs adorning the floor. Tris was lying in an elegant four poster bed. She tried to sit up and found to her shame that even the slightest movement made her head spin and her stomach roll. She moaned and stopped trying to move. A rustling in the chair next to her caught her attention, but the pounding in her head permitted no movement. A very cold, boney hand felt her forehead. Tris tried to move away, but couldn't.

"Try to lie still Tris." That was Niko. Tris made a raspy noise in the back of her throat. The hand was withdrawn and a cup was placed at her lips. Whatever was in the cup was frigid. Tris could feel the cold burning its way down her throat and into her stomach. She whimpered and moved her head from the cup. She only moved it about an inch before the stabbing pain in her temples made her stop. Tris shivered. It was very cold in here. Niko's face inserted itself into her field of vision.

"Tris, I don't even know how you managed to use up that much magic. I am glad you woke up though, you've been asleep for three days." _Niko, _she thought, _Is being surprisingly nice. Why isn't he yelling?_She wondered dimly. The cold hand found her wrist, checking her pulse.

"Cold..." She managed to croak. Niko frowned at her.

"You have a rather high fever. That would account for it I suppose." Tris closed her eyes briefly then blinked sleepily. Niko moved her covers aside with one hand and traced a strange sign in the air with the other. It glowed softly for a moment then flared bright silver. He leaned close to her and she saw his eyes had turned a warm golden colour. He studied Tris for a moment. Then he staggered back and his eyes closed. When he opened them again they had retained their previous colour. Tris looked at him expectantly and true to form he explained.

"That was a spell I created in my last year at Lightsbridge. It's a working that lets me completely examine a person's physiology. It does require some effort on my part though. Anyway, it would appear that while you were weakened from the loss of your magic," he paused to glare at her, "your body was infiltrated by a rather minor ailment. Unfortunately though, your system was severely weakened and you got worse. Much worse, very quickly. I am making an effort to be calm because I know that you are very ill and cannot defend yourself." Tris tried her best nod. This seemed to pacify Niko somewhat. He pulled her covers back over top of her and tucked them in firmly. Tris exhaled softly, closed her eyes and fell asleep under Niko's watchful gaze.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOOoOoOoOoOoOoOOo OoOoOoOoOoOOoOoOoOoOoOoOOoOo OoOoOoOoO

Tris woke more slowly this time. Awareness came in fits and starts. She could hear Niko's soft voice. He was talking to someone.

"...Hasn't been well. She woke up briefly two days ago." He sounded worried and that worried her.

"When she wakes give her this. With this pox epidemic all the healers are dry at the moment."

"Isn't there anything else you can do?" Niko pleaded. Niko never begged, not ever. Now Tris was really scared.

"No, I'm sorry. That's the best I can do." The healers voice was soft, but firm. Niko knew he would receive no more help from him.

"Then go," he said in clipped tones. Tris heard the receding footsteps and the latch on the door. She desperately wanted to go back to sleep, but she knew she had to talk to Niko. She opened her eyes slowly. Niko was hunched over in his chair with his head in his hands.

"Niko," she whispered. His head snapped up and his gaze locked with hers. The expression of relief on his face was almost painful. Tris wished she hadn't slept for so long. Niko was at her side in an instant.

"What is it Tris?" He lifted her wrist gently, feeling her pulse.

"I'm thirsty." She said hoarsely. He nodded and helped her to sit. Then he took the pitcher and cup from the bedside table. He filled it with a foul smelling green liquid and handed it to her. "Is this going to be nasty? I don't want anything nasty." She whispered suspiciously. He smiled crookedly at her.

"It has a generic medicine taste. So yes, It will be unpleasant. Drink all of that and we'll see about food." Tris glared at him. That more than anything reaffirmed his impression that she was getting better. Looking into the cup, Tris noticed that the liquid was glowing faintly silver. She took a small sip and almost gagged. She glared at Niko over the cup while he grinned cheerfully back at her. Tipping the cup back, she downed the cup swiftly. Niko took the cup from her as she fought to keep it down.

"That was awful!" Niko simply ignored her, choosing instead to notice that her colour had improved as had the strength of her voice. He pressed his wrist to her forehead and frowned. His black eyebrows came together. Tris' forehead was hot, very hot. He put his hands on his hips.

"You are not doing as well as you should be." His tone was accusing. Tris settled back against her pillows and shrugged.

"Can I have some food now?" She asked with uncharacteristic meekness. He looked at her suspiciously and disappeared to another room for several moments. While she waited Tris used quivering arms to hoist herself into a more comfortable sitting position. Now she was lying with her legs straight out and her back and head cushioned by the many pillows. Her head spun from the exertion. Niko reappeared and sat on the bed next to her. He held a damp cloth in one hand and a bowl of broth in the other.

"I told you not to move." He said reproachfully.

"Yeah, but that was like two days ago." Tris protested weakly. Niko shot her a dark look and muttered something unintelligible while he handed her the cloth. She took it with hands that trembled badly. To her utter dismay, she realized that her arms refused to be raised very much at all. Niko also noticed this and took the cloth back. Tris dropped her arms. Flags of colour rose on her cheeks as she looked down. Niko set the bowl of broth on the table. He scooted closer to Tris and gently cupped one of her flaming cheeks in his hand. The other was brought the cloth up to gently wipe the perspiration from her forehead. When this task had been accomplished Niko retrieved the broth. Tris reached for the spoon, but Niko batted her hand away.

"Absolutely not." he said crisply "You are not getting soup in my bed." Tris gaped at him.

"This is your bed? In your room? In your house? You have a house?" Niko rolled his eyes.

"Of course I do, I have to live somewhere when I'm not at Discipline." Tris opened her mouth to ask another question. "Food now, questions later." Niko interposed briskly. Tris shut her mouth. Niko scooped up a spoonful of the clear liquid. "Open your mouth." He commanded. Tris complied. He gently tipped the warm liquid into her mouth. Tris grew redder and Niko was quite sure that if her power had been restored there would have been a brisk wind going by now. Niko fed her meticulously, making very sure not to spill any. He let her have about half of the bowl before he paused. Tris looked away from him. He put the remaining broth back on the small table.

"Could I have more please?" Tris whispered. Niko shook his head.

"No, you haven't eaten in five days. I don't want to make you sick." Tris had still not looked at him, that wouldn't do at all. He put a hand under her chin and turned her face towards him. "Tris, what's the matter?" He asked softly, his black eyes kind. With dismay he noticed that she was shaking even more now.

"I just..." She trailed off for a moment. "I just don't like being sick, and..." She stopped again and gulped air as tears began to trickle down her cheeks. "Well, it's just that I've never -" she sobbed. "Nobody ever cared enough to take care of me before." Niko pulled her into an embrace. She cried with her face pressed against Niko's shirt as he quietly held her. He stroked her hair gently and whispered softly to her.

"Trisana, I will never let that happen to you again, not _ever._" His voice was fierce. He held her for a long time. He wasn't sure when she stopped crying, but eventually her tears subsided and she was still. "I'm so sorry," he said into her hair. When he received no reply he shifted so that he could see Tris' face. He smiled sadly, she had fallen asleep. He wiped the tear tracks from her face with his thumbs and sighed. It was no wonder she'd fallen asleep, she was sick, drained emotionally and magically. He laid he back down carefully. Niko then cleaned up the broth and sat back down in the chair. He had sat in it for five days, he could sit for a little while longer.

**AN: Well that's it :) Just a plot bunny I had stuck in my head and I know there's not a lot of Niko and Tris fanfic out there, believe me I've been looking.**


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